Family Life

Most dads can remember a time when technology wasn’t so ubiquitous. Life used to be a lot simpler and a lot less connected. There was once a time, believe it or not when you actually went years without seeing school or college friends. Now they’re all over your Facebook and Twitter it seems, whether you like it or not.Over the years, dads have gone one of two ways. They’ve either embraced the technology that’s all around them and used it just like everybody else. Or they’ve resisted it for as long as possible, before having to accept it grudgingly. If you’re in the latter category, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Most dads don’t want to post constant updates on what they ate for breakfast. And they don’t want to constantly remind people that they’re having a great time at some generic nightclub somewhere.

Unfortunately, a lot of dads only see the downside of tech and not the positive. Here’s some wisdom to make your relationship with tech better, from a tech-shy dad.

Wait Before You Upgrade Your Operating System

Back in the day, there were extended periods of time between each iteration of operating system. It took three years to go from Window 95 to Windows 98. But today, smartphone manufacturers are churning out new operating systems all the time. Android is up to Key Lime Pie, or is it Marshmallow? Who knows? The point is that operating systems are changing fast.

But why is this a problem? Well, as it turns out, these new operating systems are often under-polished, to say the least. They promise a bunch of new features. But they end up being totally incompatible and not working on your phone. Dads end up getting big headaches every time they want to send an email. Wise fathers should, therefore, wait until the fixes come through before updating their OS.

Technology and children don’t mix very well. Technology is delicate and fragile. Children are the destroyers of worlds. Technology likes to stay away from water. Kids love to frolic in dirty puddles. Technology makes it easy to pay for stuff. And kids don’t understand the value of money. This all means that you can end up with a crisis and have to make some rather costly replacement.

Wise dads, however, fear not. They know that a simple repair service will fix most problems with their broken smartphones. And they know that they won’t have to wait long to get back on with using it again.

Most dads have grown up with customer services staffed by real people. And so, when something goes wrong with a product, they try to ring up and get through to somebody. But with the rise of the internet, companies would rather people didn’t use expensive telephone services. Instead, they’d rather dole out cheaper, Internet-based services. That’s why it can often be more effective trying your luck through a digital channel first.